Rising stars in China's new Politburo
Fujian party secretary Sun Chunlan is the only female provincial party chief. She is tipped to be party boss for Tianjin , one of the five national cities, in this round of reshuffles.
One of the few senior women cadres, 62-year-old Sun spent most of her career in trade unions and women's federations. Starting as a worker at Anshan Clock and Watch Factory in Liaoning in 1974, she then rose from director of the Anshan Women's Federation to become the director of Liaoning Provincial Women's Federation and the province's trade union in the late 1980s and the 1990s.
Sun Chunlan
One of the few senior women cadres, 62-year-old Sun spent most of her career in trade unions and women's federations. Starting as a worker at Anshan Clock and Watch Factory in Liaoning in 1974, she then rose from director of the Anshan Women's Federation to become the director of Liaoning Provincial Women's Federation and the province's trade union in the late 1980s and the 1990s.
In 2001, she took over from the recently disgraced politician Bo Xilai to become party secretary of Dalian . In 2005, Sun was moved to Beijing to become deputy chief of the All-China Federation of Trade Unions. During her time in office, Sun was recognised for advancing the work of establishing trade unions in foreign, Hong Kong or Taiwan-invested companies to solve disputes between employees and employers.
In her current position, she impressed Fujian locals with her devotion to work.
Fujian local Xie Huaan , of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and a delegate to the Party Congress, believed Sun would be the right person to oversee Tianjin considering her rich experience in investment promotion, extensive connections and background in commerce.
"I think she will do a good job in Tianjin just like she has done in Fujian. In the past three years she has used every conceivable method to boost the economy in a scientific way," said Xie, adding she would bring the scientific development concept, President Hu Jintao's major legacy, to the busiest portal in northern China.
Sun said Fujian has been strict with environmental assessments when encouraging industrial investment.
